Chapter Text
After that weighty confession, the doctor came back in and gently kicked Eddie out of the room to do another examination of Buck. Eddie paced outside and called Chris to say good night while the doctor asked Buck question after question again and gave him the breakdown of his injuries. Buck was being kept overnight for observations and if nothing deteriorated during the night, he was clear to go home the next day so long as he wasn’t alone.
Buck’s head was still reeling - both from the accident and Eddie’s... declaration. There’s no other word for it that Buck can think of; ‘‘confession" doesn’t seem a big enough word to fully capture what happened or what was said. It doesn’t encompass the full weight and clarity of Eddie’s feelings; or Buck’s. Eddie said they were inevitable and as muddled as Buck’s head feels, he cannot deny that statement. He feels that in his heart and based on what Eddie was saying, Eddie feels it too.
Buck’s still not sure why, of all the things his brain could have chosen, it chose to believe that he and Eddie were married and playing happy families. In all Buck’s daydreaming about him and Eddie, Buck never dared to go that far. Heck, Buck could barely even daydream about him and Eddie being a couple before the voice in his head would chime in and break that thought apart. Buck’s still not sure if he’s not hallucinating all of this.
Eddie walks back in the room as Dr. Milden leaves. Eddie says, “Chris says goodnight and that he’ll see you tomorrow at home. I gave in on him going to school tomorrow but he knows he has to go back on Thursday.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think I’ll be any fun tomorrow, Eds. I'll probably crash as soon as we get home.”, says Buck. “Wait, I’m going to your place? Are you ok with that? Will Chris?” Buck continues. Eddie grabs Buck’s hand as he nods, “Buck, we might not let you out of our sight for a while. Chris hid it well but he was scared for you and the rest of us panicking probably didn’t help. We both want you with us but… but only if you’re ok with it.”
“Huh?” asks Buck. Eddie looks him in the eye as he says, “I threw a lot at you after you woke up. I meant every word I said, baby, I just want to make sure I’m not rushing you.. I want us to do this right.”
“I’m ok with it, all of it, more than ok. Us, dating, being together, you, me and Chris, all that jazz.” says Buck, “It’s gonna take me a while to process this Eds but I want us. I have wanted us for a while now but I don’t want to do anything unless Christopher is absolutely ok with it.”. Buck continues as tears form in his eyes, “I love you, Eddie, I have for a long time but I love him too and if I have to, I’ll pick him over you. I know he’s not my son, Eddie, but I love him like he’s mine and I can’t hurt him.”
“Hey”, Eddie says as he wipes the tears away, “you loving him is a big part of why I love you and I would never ask you to pick between us. You don’t have to pick, Evan, we’re both here and you are going to have us both. He already thought we were together and was so sad when he thought we got married without him.. I had to assure him that we would never do that, baby. Does that sound like a kid who’d have issues with us dating? He loves you too, you know, so much.”
Buck takes a moment to process. A part of Buck knows that what Eddie is saying is true but another insecure part of him is reluctant to accept it. A big part of why Buck didn’t tell Eddie his feelings was because he could lose both Eddie and Christopher if things went south and that was something that Buck could not deal with.
Eddie prods him carefully, “Evan, we’ll figure it, one step at a time.. The first step is getting you better then we’ll go on a date, and another date and then another. We’ll talk with Chris about moving in together and probably get into an argument over you buying a Hildy. I’ll probably drive you mad over leaving towels on the floor and you’ll get annoyed over how I can never do the laundry on time. Chris will be annoyed with both of us over what time he has to go to bed and one day, we’ll talk about getting married. I can’t wait for all of it but right now, you just need to rest and recover.”
“How can you be so sure about us, Eddie?”, asks Buck. “Because I know us, Buck. We’re stubborn about everything and there’s no way we won’t make us work.”, replies Eddie.
--
The following morning finds Eddie talking to the doctors outside about Buck’s discharge as Chris keeps Buck company. Eddie picked him up shortly after Buck ate breakfast and got changed to go home. Chris seemed to be in good spirits but was clinging to Buck - a big indicator that Chris was scared. Buck’s heart aches for Chris and tries to distract him by reading a book while they wait for Eddie to come back.
Chris smiles at Buck as Chris finishes reading the page; this is a new thing they’ve started doing ever since Chris told him and Eddie that he has trouble reading aloud in class - it’s not that Christoper can’t read the words, he just gets so nervous reading aloud that it comes through messy and hesitant. Now, when Buck or Eddie read to Chris, be it bedtime or an afternoon story, they alternate reading - Buck or Eddie do a page then Chris does a page. He does it with Carla too and on the one occasion when he had to wait for them to finish their shift at the firehouse, he read to the 118.
“Hey, Superman, can we talk real quick before the next page?”, asks Buck gently. Christopher smiles and nods to Buck as he curls further into Buck, mindful of the cracked ribs. Buck starts, “I just wanted to check in with you… I don’t remember much of yesterday but your dad told me that you were scared.”
“It was scary... the lady on the phone just said you were in an accident so I didn’t know how hurt you were. Then when we got here, you were asleep for a while and the doctor was worried about your head.. Then you woke up a bunch of times but you weren’t really awake…”, says Chris.
Buck just nods and listens. He prods Chris to keep going. Chris continues, “The doctor and everyone else kept worrying over whether you thought you and dad were married.. I don’t understand why it’s a big deal, I just wanted you to wake up and give me a hug.”
Giving Chris a hug, Buck says, “I’m sorry you were scared Chris. Probably not what you were expecting when you were on the way to school but I’m ok, I promise.” Chris hugs him back and for a second, they just sit together. Buck continues, “On the marriage thing with your dad, they were worried that my head was hurt because I was confused about me and your dad.. It’s why it was a big deal but my head is fine. I was just confused from the crash.”
“Hey Buck?” asks Chris as he prods Buck to look at him, “Can you marry my dad?”
Buck stares at him in shock - he was slowly working his way towards asking Chris if he would be ok with him and Eddie dating - Eddie had mentioned last night that Chris already thought they were but that wasn’t the same as being ok with it. Buck wanted to be absolutely sure Christopher approved before going any further and it looks like he more than approved of it. Not that he and Eddie were gonna do anything yet; Eddie wanted him to be recovered first before they go on a date which Buck appreciated but was kinda also annoyed with at the same time.
“Well, your dad and I are going to try dating first and if we decide to get married later on, we will. And you’ll be there along with everyone else, Chris, we’d never get married without you” says Buck. He continues, “But only if you’re ok with us dating.. I need you to be honest with us on this - it’s a big change and it affects you just as much as it affects your dad and I and the last thing we want to do is hurt you by accident..”
“I thought you guys were already together.. It’s kinda annoying that you guys aren’t because I really want you to be with us, Buck.” says Christopher. “You should just stay with us forever at the house after you recover. We called dibs over Bobby and Athena!” Chris continues.
“It was less dibs and more that you’re already living with us, kinda”, says Eddie from the doorway. Eddie continues as he walks towards Buck’s beside, “They figured you’d be more comfortable with us than at their place so they bowed out gracefully. You guys ready to head out?”
--
Exhausted and ready for bed, Buck sits on the edge of Eddie’s bed, their bed now, as he thinks about everything that’s happened - he was in a car crash, confused the heck out of everyone by thinking he and Eddie were married, got together with Eddie with Chris’s blessing and Bobby’s and Athena’s too apparently, and is now about to sleep on the same bed as Eddie; something they’ve done a lot of times before but only this time, they both know it’s not just as friends. It’s the start of something more.
It’s a lot to take in but Buck doesn’t regret any of it happening. Well, he could have done without the car crash or the concussion or the cracked ribs but he’s happy with how everything turned out. There’s still a lot to figure out and a lot for him to do; he needs to recover, get a new car, get a new phone but those can all wait. For now, he’s just going to live in the moment with his family.